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Back The Endless Skies
Chapters (57)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. Map
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  55. Also by Shannon Price
  56. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  57. Newsletter Sign-up

“No,” I reply, counting the bells’ tolls. “The humans have launched their ships.” I get up, but remembering my promise from before, I give the queen a reassuring look. “I am not going far.”

I run through the queen’s rooms and out onto the adjacent balcony of the Queen’s Tower. It faces south, but if I stand at the end, I can make out the wall of black masts of the ships leaving Balmora’s coast. I envision them streaming out of the protected cove at the Cliffs. Their numbers seem only slightly greater than usual, and my hope rises. The underwater attacks from the sea-folk are bound to hold them.

From the northern side of the city, the first wave of our defense flies forward. Teams of four carry nets full of stones to drop on the unsuspecting ships. But the ships are approaching fast, skimming over the waves. Is this their latest strategy? Move quickly enough that we can’t take them all out in time—

BOOM!

A tremendous explosion slams the ground from below. I thought I’d be ready for the impact. I am not.

The Heliana has fallen.

The city bobs like a toy boat on a rippling pond, lurching my body upward, only to suck it back down as I hold fast to the balcony’s railing. Leaping up, I take my lioness form, beating my wings to stay steady in the air as crashes continue to sound from the city below. Buildings topple as if they are made of sand. Above me comes a horrible snap as gilded arches fragment like broken bones. A strange, shrill chiming saturates the air, and it takes me a fraction of a second to put it together—glass.

Adjusting my wings, I dive back into the palace as a million shards of glass rain down from the remains of the Glass Tower. I retake my human form, sprinting back the way I’d come. The palace has come to a rest at a slight angle, with toppled chairs and finery settling into bunches against the far wall as I burst back into the queen’s room and the nursery. “Queen Laianna!”

The prince’s bed moved with the impact, but it’s not overturned. Prena kneels beside the queen, who is no longer rocking Prince Tabrol but shaking with her whole being as if her heart is being ripped from her chest.

She screams, and that’s when I know. The crown prince, the lifeblood of the Heliana and the future of the Leonodai people, is dead.

Somehow, the queen finds the strength to lift her head. Her red eyes find mine. Not with kindness this time but with blazing pain and anger.

“Go fight,” the queen says. “Take my armor. It’ll fit you. Go fight for us, warrior Shirene.”

44

CALLEN